The first official NET rankings of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season dropped Monday, and right out of the gate, we’ve got some eyebrow-raising results. Michigan leads the pack at No. 1, followed closely by Duke at No.
- But the bigger story might be the Big Ten’s early dominance - six teams in the top 20, including Purdue at No. 3 and Michigan State at No.
- That’s a strong statement from a conference looking to reassert itself on the national stage.
What Is the NET - and Why Does It Matter?
Before we dive deeper, let’s take a quick refresher on what the NET actually is. The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) replaced the RPI back in 2018-19 as the primary sorting metric for NCAA Tournament selection and seeding. It’s a blend of results-based and predictive analytics, factoring in win-loss record, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, and offensive/defensive efficiency.
The NET is broken into two core components: the Team Value Index, which rewards beating quality opponents (especially away from home), and adjusted net efficiency, which measures a team’s performance relative to its competition and game location.
And here’s why it matters: since its debut, five of the last six national champions were ranked in the top 10 of the first NET release. The only exception?
Kansas in 2021-22, who started at No. 14 and ended up cutting down the nets anyway. So, while it’s not gospel, the NET has a solid track record of identifying legit contenders early.
The Top 10: A Mix of Powerhouses and Surprises
Let’s start at the top. Michigan sits at No. 1 with a 7-0 record, including a 3-0 mark in Quadrant 1 games - the highest level of win quality.
Right behind them is Duke, also unbeaten at 8-0 with two Q1 wins. Purdue rounds out the top three, also undefeated and looking every bit the part of a Final Four threat.
But the real eye-opener? Vanderbilt at No.
- The Commodores were No. 24 in last week’s AP poll, but the NET loves them - and for good reason.
They’re top-10 nationally in scoring margin and boast the No. 2 offense in adjusted efficiency metrics. That kind of firepower is hard to ignore, and the NET clearly isn’t.
Gonzaga, another team that’s outperforming its AP ranking, lands at No. 5.
Despite a 40-point loss to Michigan in Las Vegas, the Zags are still top-20 in efficiency on both ends and 11th in scoring margin. That tells you just how much weight the NET places on overall performance metrics rather than single-game results.
Big Ten Flexes Its Depth
The Big Ten is well-represented in this debut ranking. Along with Michigan, Purdue, and Michigan State, Indiana (No.
11), Iowa (No. 16), and Nebraska (No. 28) all cracked the top 30. That’s six teams, and they’re not just scraping by - four of them are in the top 16.
Michigan State and Purdue each have two Q1 wins, and both are unbeaten. Indiana’s spot at No. 11 might raise some questions - they’ve played a softer schedule (average opponent NET rank: 267), and five of their seven wins came against Quadrant 4 teams. But they’re fourth nationally in scoring margin, and that’s clearly helping their case in the NET’s eyes.
Who’s Rising Above Expectations?
Let’s talk about the teams that are catching everyone off guard. Vanderbilt, as mentioned, is the biggest surprise at No.
- Indiana at No. 11 and LSU at No. 19 also jump off the page.
LSU hasn’t cracked the AP poll this season, but the Tigers are 7-0 with a top-10 scoring margin. Like Indiana, their schedule hasn’t been elite - all wins have come against Q3 or Q4 opponents - but they’re handling business convincingly, and that’s enough to earn the NET’s respect at this stage.
Butler (No. 21), Utah State (No. 22), and Yale (No. 25) also find themselves higher than expected. These are teams that may not be household names in December, but if they keep stacking efficient wins, they’ll be in the mix come March.
Who’s Lower Than Expected?
Not everyone is getting love from the NET. A few teams with strong AP rankings find themselves further down the list.
Houston, ranked No. 3 in last week’s AP poll, is just No. 18 in the NET despite a 7-1 record. Their only loss came to a tough Tennessee team on a neutral court, but the NET isn’t giving them the benefit of the doubt - at least not yet.
Florida, the reigning national champion, sits at No. 33.
The Gators are 5-2 with losses to Arizona and TCU, and that’s dragging down their results-based metrics. They were No. 10 in the AP poll last week, but the NET is clearly weighing those losses heavily.
And then there’s UCLA, all the way down at No. 76.
The Bruins were No. 18 in the AP poll but have now dropped two games, including one to Cal. That’s a tough early-season hit, and the NET is making them pay for it.
Scoring margin is a key factor here. All but five of the top 20 teams in scoring margin are inside the NET’s top 25.
The five outliers - Clemson (No. 34), Georgia (No.
36), Miami (No. 38), Missouri (No. 51), and Ohio State (No. 63) - are putting up solid numbers but haven’t done enough in other areas to rise higher.
The Full Top 30 Snapshot
Here’s how the top 30 shakes out in the first NET release:
- Michigan (7-0)
- Duke (8-0)
- Purdue (7-0)
- Vanderbilt (8-0)
- Gonzaga (7-1)
- Arizona (7-0)
- Iowa State (7-0)
- UConn (6-1)
- Louisville (7-0)
- Michigan State (7-0)
- Indiana (7-0)
- Tennessee (7-1)
- BYU (6-1)
- Alabama (5-2)
- Kentucky (5-2)
- Iowa (7-0)
- Kansas (6-2)
- Houston (7-1)
- LSU (7-0)
- USC (7-0)
- Butler (6-1)
- Utah State (6-0)
- St.
John’s (4-3)
24.
Illinois (6-2)
25.
Yale (7-1)
26.
North Carolina (6-1)
27.
Tulsa (5-1)
28.
Nebraska (8-0)
29.
Saint Mary’s (7-1)
30.
Auburn (6-2)
What’s Next?
The NET rankings update daily throughout the season, so expect movement as teams add wins, face tougher competition, and build their tournament resumes. The AP Top 25 and Coaches Polls will continue to drop each Monday, but the NET is the tool that the selection committee leans on most heavily when March rolls around.
So, whether your team is riding high or trying to climb out of a hole, there’s plenty of basketball left - and plenty of time to shift the narrative.